The Republican National Committee is demanding an investigation into the federal authorities who initiated the probe that eventually turned into an investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion with Russia on the part of President Trump.
The inquiry concluded that Trump did not collude with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign — a finding that is a major political boost for Trump heading into his 2020 reelection campaign. But rather than lay the matter to rest, Trump’s political team is signaling plans to keep the Russia probe front and center.
[READ: Robert Mueller’s redacted Russia report]
“It is now time to get to the bottom of how an investigation based off of fake and partisan information began in the first place,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “After two years and over $35 million, American taxpayers deserve answers and the integrity of our democratic process depends on ensuring this never happens again.”
McDaniel was Trump’s choice to run the RNC and he recently picked her to stay on for a second two-year term — and the national party organization is working closely with the Trump campaign to re-elect the president. So McDaniel’s prepared statement on the findings of the Mueller probe offers more than the support of a Trump-aligned organization. She is echoing Trump’s messaging, which could signal the president’s intent to raise the Mueller probe as part of his case for a second term.
Indeed, as late last month, after an initial summary of the Mueller investigation was publicized by Attorney General William Barr, the Trump campaign said it planned to weaponize the findings to undermine Democrats who had wielded the probe as a bludgeon over the past nearly two years.
“This is a complete and total vindication of President Trump,” McDaniel said. “It is increasingly clear that the only scandal here is the [Barack] Obama administration’s repeated failure to act against Russian cyber meddling. Instead, they prioritized spying on a political opponent — the Trump campaign — and used a phony [Democratic National Committee]-funded dossier as justification.”
